U.S. Coin Production Tops 6.5 Billion in First Half of 2020

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US coinage
The U.S. Mint produced 6,523,680,000 coins for circulation in the first half of this year

U.S. coin production soared in June, registering the biggest output since January 2018, after three rather lackluster months.

Across a longer stretch of time, the United States Mint pressed just over 6.5 billion coins for circulation in the first half of 2020. That’s seemingly an enormous amount but it’s tracking toward a fifth straight annual decline.

In the headline figure for June, U.S. Mint presses struck nearly 1.6 billion coins, logging increases of 76.6% from May and 56.3% from June 2019.

Here’s how the month compares against others in the past year:

June 2019 to June 2020 Circulating Coin Production

Month Mintages Rank
June 2020 1,596.48 M 1
May 2020 904.12 M 8
April 2020 801.84 M 11
March 2020 898.86 M 9
February 2020 1,094.30 M 5
January 2020 1,228.08 M 2
December 2019 400.88 M 13
November 2019 898.38 M 10
October 2019 1,154.94 M 4
September 2019 939.66 M 7
August 2019 767.32 M 12
July 2019 1,202.10 M 3
June 2019 1,021.654 M 6

 

The Federal Reserve orders more 1-cent coins than any other denomination despite data that shows it costs the U.S. Mint 1.99 cents to make and distribute each one. The Mint produced 889.6 million Lincoln cents last month, representing 55.7% of the circulating-quality coins produced in June.

Month-Over-Month

In month-over month comparisons for coins used daily by Americans, production totals in June increased by:

  • 83.8% Lincoln cents,
  • 72.3% Jefferson nickels,
  • 48.8% Roosevelt dimes, and
  • 103.5% America the Beautiful quarter dollars.

Native American $1 Coins and Kennedy half-dollars are no longer ordered by Federal Reserve Banks but they are still made in circulating quality for coin collectors. Usually in January, the U.S. Mint tends to strike both coins to the expected amounts needed for the entire year. That wasn’t the case for halves at least until the second month of this year.

In February, mintages of Philadelphia Mint-struck Kennedy half-dollars rose by 1.8 million after none were reported out of the plant in January. That added to the earlier 1.8 million produced Denver halves for a combined 3.6 million. For reference, last year’s half-dollar ended with equal splits of 1.7 million for Denver and Philadelphia for a combined 3.4 million.

Published mintages of the Native American dollar remained unchanged — 1.26 million from Denver and 1.4 million from Philadelphia for a combined 2.66 million coins. Last year’s issue had splits of 1.54 million for Denver and 1.4 million for Philadelphia for a combined 2.94 million coins.

Here’s a summary of all circulating-quality coins produced last month:

US Mint Circulating Coin Production in June 2020

Denomination Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 471,600,000 418,000,000 889,600,000
Jefferson Nickels 79,680,000 82,800,000 162,480,000
Roosevelt Dimes 155,000,000 168,000,000 323,000,000
ATB Quarters 114,800,000 106,600,000 221,400,000
Kennedy Half Dollars 0 0 0
Native American $1s 0 0 0
Total 821,080,000 775,400,000 1,596,480,000

 

U.S. Mint plants in Denver and Philadelphia manufacture all of America’s coins for commerce. Last month, the Denver Mint made 821.08 million coins and the Philadelphia Mint made 775.4 million coins for the combined 1,596,480,000 coins.

Coin Production in First Half of 2020

Through the first half of this year, the Denver Mint struck 3,398,000,000 coins and the Philadelphia Mint struck 3,125,680,000 coins for a combined 6,523,680,000 coins — 0.8% fewer than the 6,578,954,400 coins minted through the first half of 2019.

This next table lists 2020 coin production totals by denomination and by U.S. Mint facility:

YTD 2020 Circulating Coin Production by Denomination

1 ¢ 5 ¢ 10 ¢ 25 ¢ 50 ¢ N.A. $1 Total:
Denver 1879.6M 331.44M 612.5M 571.4M 1.8M 1.26M 3398M
Philadelphia 1682.4M 288.48M 577M 574.6M 1.8M 1.4M 3125.68M
Total 3562M 619.92M 1189.5M 1146M 3.6M 2.66M 6523.68M

 

If the average monthly production pace was maintained through to the end of this year, the annual mintage for 2020 would top 13 billion coins. Usually, however, coin production slows significantly in December as the U.S. Mint prepares for newly dated coinage for the upcoming year. The Mint made over 11.9 billion coins for circulation in 2019.

Mintages by Unique Design

The Mint through the first half of 2020 released four standard coins with one-year-only designs. They include:

The following table offers a mintage breakdown for it and other denominations:

2020 Circulating Coin Production by Design

  Denver Philadelphia Total
Lincoln Cents 1,879,600,000 1,682,400,000 3,562,000,000
Jefferson Nickels 331,440,000 288,480,000 619,920,000
Roosevelt Dimes 612,500,000 577,000,000 1,189,500,000
National Park of American Samoa Quarter 212,200,000 286,000,000 498,200,000
Weir Farm National Historic Site Quarter (Connecticut) 155,000,000 125,600,000 280,600,000
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Quarter (U.S. Virgin Islands) 0 0 0
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Quarter (Vermont) 0 0 0
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Quarter (Kansas) 0 0 0
Kennedy Half-Dollars 1,800,000 1,800,000 3,600,000
Native American $1 Coins 1,260,000 1,400,000 2,660,000
Total 3,193,800,000 2,962,680,000 6,156,480,000

 

There are 367.2 million in quarters that the U.S. Mint has yet to officially assign to a design. These are likely a portion of U.S. Virgin Islands’ Salt River Bay quarters.

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